River Road closures to protect amphibian breeding

STAFF REPORT

Sunday

Mar 10, 2019 at 6:48 PMMar 10, 2019 at 6:48 PM

BUSHKILL, PA — Motorists can expect River Road within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to be closed on several evenings over the next few weeks to protect breeding amphibians. The trigger for the road closures will be forecasts calling for evening rain with mild temperatures, usually in the 50’s.

As the ground thaws, a myriad of wood frogs, spotted salamanders, spring peepers and other spring-breeding amphibians follow their ancestral urge to search for prospective mates. When conditions are right, there are often hundreds, if not thousands, of amphibians on the move all across the region.

"Just like an alarm clock that badgers us to get up for work when we would rather be sleeping; certain amphibians such as wood frogs, spotted salamanders and Jefferson salamanders react to nature’s wet and soggy environmental wake-up call. Within a few hours of stretching and yawning after several months of winter slumber, their instincts motivate them to begin an ancestral journey to remote and isolated woodland pools to breed. One by one, they awaken and leave their subterranean retreat and leafy berth," Rick Koval, author of the Pocono Record's weekly feature 'Out & About.'

Since the amphibians are active principally at night and have completed their treks by dawn, the road will be closed at approximately 4:00 p.m. and will remain closed until approximately 6:30 a.m.

Each year the National Park Service take steps to protect migrating amphibians by closing River Road in Middle Smithfield Township between park headquarters and Hialeah Picnic Area on several mild, rainy nights from March to mid-April. This closure allows vulnerable amphibians to crawl or hop from distances of a few hundred feet to sometimes more than a quarter mile, to moist breeding pools without the risk of being crushed by vehicle tires. In the past, disproportionately high numbers of animals have been killed by motor vehicles near ‘hot-spots’ like River Road at park headquarters, a high traffic area where amphibians tend to concentrate during peak breeding periods.

For more information on Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area or updates on road closures call park headquarters at (570) 426-2452, Monday through Friday from 8:30 am until 4:30 pm; visit our website at www.nps.gov/dewa; or follow us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/DelWaterGapNPS.

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